The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) has ordered a resident of Dambulla to stop accepting deposits from the public and to refund all existing deposits, following an investigation into unauthorised deposit-taking.
The Central Bank said the individual accepted deposits in contravention of the Finance Business Act No. 42 of 2011, according to Hiru News.
What the Central Bank found
Between 2019 and 2022, the individual obtained deposits from the public by issuing promissory notes and entering into loan agreements, the regulator said in an official statement.
The order requires the person both to suspend accepting further deposits and to return all money already taken to depositors.
The Finance Business Act prohibits carrying on finance business — including accepting deposits from the public — without a licence from the Central Bank.
A recurring enforcement pattern
The promissory-note structure is the same device the Central Bank has repeatedly flagged in unlicensed deposit cases. In June it warned the public against Singhe Capital Investment Limited and ordered the company and two named directors to stop accepting deposits issued through promissory notes and commercial papers, after investigating under Section 42(10) of the same Act.
The regulator has also acted against illegal plantation investment schemes advertised in the media, part of a sustained campaign against unlicensed deposit-takers operating outside the regulated finance sector.
Not reported
Hiru does not name the individual, give the total value of the deposits taken, state how many depositors are affected, or say what deadline applies to the refund. It does not report what enforcement follows if the order is not complied with, or why an investigation into activity ending in 2022 has concluded only now. The report describes the deposits as breaching both the Finance Business Act and “the provisions of the Central Bank Act” without distinguishing between them.
